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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS 

IN 

AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY 



Vol. !3, No. 7, pp. 235-258. 



April 12, 1922 



FUNCTIONAL FAMILIES OF THE PAT WIN 



BY 

W. C. McKERN 



CONTENTS 

IntroductioiK 

Phonetic system 

Inheritance and descent 

The family . 

The paternal family 

The familj- social group 

The household 

Inheritance 

The village chief ._. 

Succession 

Pohtical power and authority 

Control of tribal economy 

Authority over ceremonies 

Social prestige 

Summary -. 

Functional families 

Classification of functional families 

Ceremonial families 

Trade families 

Shamanistic families 

Official families 

Discussion 

Types of names 

Family adoption 

Non-active members of the functional family 

Charms and medicines 

Monopoly of family functions 

Family functions and professionalism 

Group consciousness 

Exogamy .' 

Independent officials .■ 

The numerical problem 

Conclusions 

Shamanism 

Clans .'. 

Types of functions 

Summary 



PAGE 

2:36 
2.36 
237 
238 
238 
238 
240 
240 
242 
242 
243 
244 
24.5 
246 
246 
246 
247 
247 
247 
250 
251 
252 
252 
252 
253 
254 
255 
255 
255 
256 
256 
256 
257 
257 
2.58 
258 
258 



236 



University of California Publications in Am. Arcli. and Ellin. [Vol. 13 



INTRODUCTION 

The Wiiitnn Indians of northern California are a linguistic group 
formerly occupying most of the western drainage of the Sacramento 
valley. In native terminology, the name Wintun applies only to the 
Indians of the northern half of -what etlmologists call Wintun terri- 
tory. The people of the southern half speak of themselves as Patwin. 
The whole Wintun area in the larger sense has been divided into four 
major dialectic provinces: the Northern, Central, .Southeastern, and 
Southwestern.^ This paper is descriptive only of that portion of the 
Patwin who occupied a narrow strip of territory bordering the west 
bank of the Sacramento river, from Princeton in Colusa county soutli- 
ward to a point somewhat below the city of Colusa. These Indians 
belonged to the Central and Southeastern Wintun dialectic provinces. 

The material included in this paper was collected during two visits 
to a Patwin rancheria immediately north of the city of Colusa. These 
visits were made in 1917 and 1919, under the direction of the Depart- 
ment of Anthropology of the University of California. 



PHONETIC SYSTEM 

Native names and words used in this discussion are phonetically 
transcribed according to the following system : 



CONSON.^NTS 



Stops 



Spirants AfTricatives Nasals Trilled Rolled 



Inter- 



Surd Sonant mediate Fortis Surd Surd Fortis Surd Sonant Surd 

Bilabial p b b p' m 

Dental. ■ s 

Linguo-dental. / 

Lingiio-alveolar t d t' . . '^ '^ n r 

Lateral 1 l 1 

Linguo-palatal . , . .... .... ■ ... s 

Mid-palatal k k' 

Back-palatal q 

Glottal ' "orh 



I S. A. Barrett, The Etlino-Geography of the Porno and Xeighboring Indians, 
present series, vi, 284-289, maps 1 and 2, 1908; and map "Native Tribes, Groups, 
Dialects, and Families of California in 1770," published by tlie Department of 
Anthropology, University of California, in 1917, 1920, and 1922. 



1922] McKern: Fiinctiriiial Familirx of tlir Pnticin 237 

B is intermediate between p and b. That is to say, it is voiced iliirinf,' 
occlusion but surd during the remainder of its formatiou. 

ji", t', and k' are stops accompanied by glottal closure. This glottali/ation 
is not vigorously articulated. 

t is a lingual stop formed by touching the tip of the tongue to the upper 
incisors. It is not inter-dental. The resulting souml at first seems intermediate 
between English t and th. 

e represents the sound "tsh," as in English "chair." 

c' is the sound c accompanied by a slightly articulated glottal stop. 

1 is made by arranging the muscles of articulation as if to pronounce Eng- 
lish " 1, " but employing aspiration instead of voice. 

L is effected by an abrupt lateral release of breath from a complete tongue- 
closure of the mouth cavity. 

« is produced by lightly touching the tip of the tongue to the palate, at the 
posterior edge of the alveolar process, ami allowing the breath to escape through 
a small opening left by the tongue tip. The result is a whistled "s. " 

q is a medium back palatal "k." 

r is a brietiy trilled French " r. " 

A slight aspiration is indicated by an inverted aposthrophe, ' . Full strength 
aspirations are represented, as in English, by the letter h. 

Glottal stops are represented by the aposthrophe. 

The other consonants shown in the chart are identical to those sounds 
similarly represented in English. 

\'0WELS 

As in English: 

a father 

6 bet, dog 

e o hey, go 

a but 

I V pin, put 

i u unique, rule 

y and w are used when i and u, respectively, are but semi-voiced, as in 
English "you" and "will." 

The most frequently used diphthongs are: oi, ai, ui, ei, an, ou, eu. 

The analysis of words or complexes is indicated by <. 

Translations are indicated by :^. 

The accented syllable in a multisj-llabic term is indicated by the acute accent. 



INHERITANCE AND DESCENT 

A clear presentation of the subject of hereditary functional groups 
among these people, requires a discu.ssion of the native attitude toward 
inheritance and descent. Consanguinity (in theory, at lea.st) was one 
of the most important factors in the social structure. The following 
brief descriptions of the family and the office of village chieftain are 
by way of concretely illustrating this fact. 



238 Uriirersity of Califoriiia Publications in Am. Arch, and Eihn. [Vol. 13 



THE FAMILY 

There were three types of groups, each possessing group con- 
sciousness, which might (though mistakenly) be termed families. They 
may be st.yled (1) the paternal family, (2) the family social group, and 
(3) the household. 

Tlie paternal famUii. Blood relationship was reckoned paternally. 
While blood affinity in the female line of descent was knowii to exist 
as a fact in nature, tradition was here the governing factor rather than 
natural law. Traditionally, then, one's maternal relatives were not 
regarded as kinsfolk in a consanguinary sense. Nor were they entitled 
to family privileges. This was true to the degree that a man might 
marry his cross-cousin, the daughter of his mother's brother, but it 
was taboo for him to marry the daughter of his father's brother. The 
family accordingly consisted of the patriarch or head man, his brothers 
(he being the elder), his sisters, his sons and daughters, his sons' 
children, liis brothers' sons and daughters, the children of his 
brothers' sons, and such other paternal descendants as he might have 
(see fig. 1). 

The female members of a family did not lose their traditional 
family membershiji at marriage, as illustrated below (pages 241, 250). 

The family social group. In spite of this paternal concept of blood 
relationship, it was customary for a young man, at marriage, to make 
his home with bis wife's people. The duration of this matrilocal resi- 
dence was uncertain, depending largely upon the young husband's 
ability to acquire the property and wealth necessary to establish an 
independent household. Until such independence was attained, he 
was under the authority of the family head man of his wife's people. 
The family group, as socially directed by the family head man, was 
therefore quite a different unit from the paternal family. It included 
all members of the paternal family, with the following exceptions : the 
head man 's married sisters, and those other female family representa- 
tives whose husbands had established independent households.; those 
male family representatives who resided with their wives' people. 
The latter exclusion was only temporary, and when these men had 
established their own households, they and their wives and children 
came to be included in their family social group. In like manner the 
husbands and wives of these children might, at different times, be 
included in the group. It might also include the head man's wives, the 



1922] 



McEerii: Functional Families of the Patiiin 



239 



husbands of his brothers' daughters, his sons-in-law, and (temporarily) 
the children of his daughters and of his brothers' daughters (see fig. 1). 






K 
H 



•a 



C7 



o' 

3 



o n 



Q 



(V 

3. 



? 
a. 

3 

f 



3 
3 



y 
-0 



3. 



U 
o 

3 



Ch 



^ 



Oi 



.5 



o 

n 

3 

a 



? 



3^1 



i 



f 



.' 3 



X 


c 

X 

o 



C/) 
o 

^-■ 

o 

-1 

o 
c 



Thus the membership of this group, coming under the authority 
of the familj- head man, was not constant, but included at one time 
those excluded at another time. 



240 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Etiin. [Vol. 13 

Over the family social group the patriarchal head man exercised 
undisputed family authority, checked only by tril)al tradition and 
tribal authority (see page 2-4-1). Tliis patriarchal authority was not 
dependent upon unilocal residence. As a man's sons, when inde- 
pendently established, lived in separate houses, the houses themselves 
in all probability were remotely situated in regard to each other. Even 
where houses were communal, as the permanent winter houses usually 
were, the several households occupying a given house, each liolding a 
definite part thereof, were quite independent of each other and almost 
invariably traced their ancestry from different family stocks. 

The Jwitseliold. Neither the paternal family nor the family social 
group practiced unilocal residence. That portion of the family social 
group, then, living together in one house, constituted a third group, 
the household. It might include a man, his wife, his unmarried sons, his 
daughters, his sons-in-law, and his daughters' children. The last three 
household elements mentioned would be included in the household only 
during a limited time, preceding the establishment by the sons-in-law 
of independent households (see fig. 1). 

The paternal family, tlien, constituted a group, held together by 
virtue of traditional ties of blood. The family social group owed its 
modicum of social unity to group authority vested in the family head 
man. The household was a social unit due to common residence under 
the immediate authority of a household head, who might or might not 
be the family head man. 

No conscious recognition of such a varied groi^ping of the family 
has been found among the Patvvin, but an accurate use of words makes 
essential some distinction between groups so different and yet so easily 
confused in a discussion of the family. The paternal family is the 
true family from every traditional standpoint. In it alone blood 
kinship is an essential factor. It will be termed hereafter in this 
paper the famil.y. Any reference to the other groups will be made in 
specific terms. The native word for the family is se'rc. 

INHERITANCE 

When property rights are taken into consideration it is readily seen 
that the family was conscious of ties not reflected at all by the life in 
households. Property subject to inheritance was of two kinds: (1) 
personal possessions, (2) family possessions. 

Not all personal property was inheritable. The practice of burying 
with the dead, or burning after the burial, the larger part of the 



1922] McKern: Functional Families nf tlir Patwin 241 

deceased's personal effects wns universal. Only those elements of 
personal property that were publicly ceded previous to death became 
the heritage of the deceased's paternal descendants. Such things as, 
for example, a ceremonial costume, a feather belt, a ceremonial pipe, 
a quantity of shell beads, a charm .sloiie, or a secret "medicine" 
formula, might thus be given away. Tlie original owner was said to 
have "given" the property to the descendant, yet the "gift" never 
changed hands previous to the donor's death. The recipient was 
almost invariably the next in paternal line of descent. A woman's 
property miglit, for example, if so directed by her, pass on to her 
brother's daughter; a man's property to his son. 

Occasionally a man might discountenance any claim of liis paternal 
relatives and leave some of his belongings to an outsider. Such a 
course of action, however, was generally frowned upon and publicly 
discouraged. It was not the "right thing to do." 

There were many classes of property that never belonged to the 
individual. In most cases, when not commonly owned by the village, 
these classes of property belonged to the family. For example, that 
definite portion of the dwelling house in which the household lived, 
and the store of necessary household utensils such as food baskets, 
mats, mortars and pestles, cooking and eating utensils, and the house- 
hold granary, were the common property of the family, held and used 
by the household during its existence. With the death of the head man 
of the household, these possessions reverted to the custody of the next 
in line of descent whose household might have need of them. The 
family head man under whose authority that particular household 
came, decided who was entitled to replace the deceased custodian. He 
could not elect him at will, but it was liis duty to point out the proper 
successor. Such effects were not the property of the head man of the 
household. He merely exercised over them the function of custodian. 
The privilege of using such effects was inherited by the household as 
a group. Ownership thereof was claimed by the family of which the 
household was a part. This class of property was buried, burned, or 
otherwise destroyed upon the death of the last male representative of 
tlie owning family, but not otherwise. 

Individual names were looked upon as the property not of the 
individual but of the family. Each family possessed a stock of names. 
The individual acquired the name of tliat deceased paternal relative, 
of like sex, who was of closest relationship. A man's name was that 
of his nearest deceased male paternal relative; a woman's that of her 



242 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Ethn. [Vol. 13 

nearest deceased female paternal relative. This name was the bearer's 
as long as he or she lived. The individual could not, however, sell or 
in any other way dispose of the name. 

So rigidly was this method of naming observed that a child 's name 
was predetermined before its birth. It depended upon the time of the 
death's occurring before the child's birth. One versed in such affairs 
upon hearing a man's name might readily know to what family, in a 
given tribe, he belonged. 

At the death of the individual, his name was returned to the 
family supply of unclaimed names, to be appropriated to the use of 
his nearest paternal male relative in the unborn generation. 

Certain "medicines," or rituals, peculiarly inducive to super- 
natural aid in some particular functional capacity, were also consid- 
ered as famil.y property. Tliis class of property will be considered in 
detail below, in connection with functional families (see page 246). 

THE VILLAGE CHIEF 
The high importance of paternal descent in the social organization 
is again illustrated in the office of the village chief, called se'ktu, the 
head of the village. Since each village was politically independent of 
every other village, the village chief held the highest rank recognized 
by the Patwin. In time of war, two or more villages might unite in 
action against a common enemy, but each contingent of warriors acted 
as an independent unit, under the command of its own war-leader. 

Succe.<ision. The position of chief was hereditary and ordinarily 
passed from father to son. When the deceased chief had no son, or 
when the son was judged by general concensus of opinion to be incom- 
petent for the position, the new chief was chosen by the village elders 
according to his qualifications. 

A qualification greatly to be desired in the new village head man 
was that of blood relationship to the dead chief. Other qualifications, 
of smaller import, were ability and popularity. As blood relationship 
became more distant, ability and popularity gained in importance as 
deciding factors. For instance, an unable or unpopular grandnephew 
of the former chief might lose the election to one with a still more 
distant blood claim to the office but possessing the confidence and 
esteem of the village. A son of the deceased official, however, if at 
all competent, in spite of being unpopular in the community, had just 
claim to the position. 



1922] McEern: Functional Families of the Patwin 243 

All other qualifications being equal, blood relationship was the 
deciding factor. There was a definite order of rating of relationship. 
Each individual claiming consanguinity to the chief was definitely 
recognized as being more clo.sely allied to him than certain claimants, 
and moT-e distantly related than others. This blood rank ran, in a 
descending scale, as follows : 

1. Elder son. 

2. Younger son. 

3. Elder brother. 

4. Younger brother. 

5. Ehler brother's sons (in order of age). 

6. Younger brother's sons (in order of age). 

7. Father's elder brother. 

8. Father 's younger brother. 

9. Elder son's sons (in order of age). 

10. Younger son's sons (in order of age). 

11. Father's elder brother's sons (in order of age). 

12. Father's younger brother's sons (in order of age). 
1.3. Brother's son 's sons (in order of age). 

14. Father's brothers' sons' sons (in order of age).= 

Ability and popularity became dominant factors in the choosing 
of a new chief when the following peculiar situations existed: (1) 
when there were two ranking candidates of equal paternal blood 
affinity to the deceased chief; (2) when the deceased chief was the 
last representative of his line; (3) when a new village unit was 
organized (see below). The first of these situations was made pos- 
sible through the practice of polygamy. It was quite possible for two 
mothers to have children, by the same father, at practically the same 
time. As a careful reckoning of dates was never kept, there might 
very logically arise later the cjue.stion as to which was the older. Car- 
ried into the second or third generation, the answer to this question 
would tend to become more and more obscure. 

Political power and authoriiij. The chief enjoyed a large ascend- 
ancy. He exercised the powers of a dictator. He could not be deposed, 
although at any time he might resign in favor of his son. Those who 
disobeyed him could not continue to live in the village. "When the dis- 
loyal element consisted of a group instead of an individual, the group 
left the village. If of sufficient strength, such a group might establish 



2 It may seem unbelievable that such a definite system of rank could have 
existed among these people. To my knowledge nothing of this nature has been 
reported among neighboring stocks. My informant was Tom Odoek, cliief of the 
rancheria where this information was obtained. My impression of him, cor- 
roborated by the opinion of others who have worked -n-ith him, is that of an excep- 
tionally truthful and careful informant. 



244 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Ethn. [Vol. 13 

itself as an independent community. Even then the chief selected 
to head the new village was, when possible, a paternal relative of the 
former chief. 

Although subject to the advice of a council of elders, chosen by 
himself from among the oldest and most respected of the family head 
men, the chief had the final word at all councils. The political func- 
tion of the council was that of bringing to the attention of the chief 
matters of common tribal importance, discussing with him the problems 
involved, but leaving him free to act as he saw fit, unhampered by any 
authority vested in the council. Thus some member of this council 
might think it advisable to move the village site. He would confer 
witli other members of the council and with other prominent village 
personages, such as the head man of the esoteric society. Then if the 
concensus of opinion seemed favorable toward his project he would 
speak to the chief concerning it. If the chief considered the matter 
of sufficient weight, he would call together the council. Meeting at 
the chief's house they would build a great fire on the hearth-place, 
close the door and smoke-hole with .skins or mats, and "sweat." While 
sweating, the question would be brought up and discussed lengthily. 
In such discussions the chief usually took very little part. Nor did 
he, as a rule, announce his decision at the conclusion of the meeting. 
When the chief declared the council at an end, the members would 
run out of the house and plunge into the river. After a swim, they 
would return to their respective homes. This council meeting was 
called ca'puroy^'piri't-u (=they who meet together while sweating: 
<Cca'po, to take a "sweat bath;" yo"piri, to assemble). 

Control of tribal economy. Tlie most commonly exercised powers 
of the chief were of an economic character. He was the commissioner 
of wild crops, acquainted with the local centers of sui)ply, and versed 
in the proper times for harvesting. Nut, fruit, and seed producing 
localities belonging to the village were conveniently divided into sub- 
areas by the chief. These he assigned, during harvest time, to various 
families. That is to say, each family had its own "picking grounds," 
reassign.ed each season in accordance with tlie relative sizes of the 
various families involved. 

All meat products, when of sufficient quantity, wliether fish, tlesh, 
or fowl, were brought to the chief to be distributed by him among the 
households most in need thereof. This did not hold true in regard to 
insignificant amounts. A hunter returning with only two or three 
squirrels would keep them, to be used by his own household. But if a 



1922] McKern: Functional Families of the Patwiii 245 

deer were brought in, or small game in quantity, it was invariably 
apportioned to family head men, who in turn apportioned it to the 
family households. 

Tlie division of food-producing areas and meat pi-oduets among the 
families by the chief could not, ultimately, result in iinfair partiality 
toward certain families, for a family not sufficiently supplied in this 
manner could demand food from their more fortunate neighbors. 
Sloth, whieli might logically result from such a custom, was checked 
by the chief's autiiority (1) to order any given family to gatlier the 
product of its allotted area, (2) to organize general village hunting 
expeditions. 

At the beginning of the fish spawning season, the chief proclaimed 
a certain day as one to be devoted by the entire community to fishing. 
Everyone was obliged to fish on that day, nor could any one begin 
fishing before the appointed time. 

The chief personally organized and directed communal drives of 
rabbit or deer, the gathering of wood to be used for fuel at dances, and 
other activities in which the community participated as a whole. When 
disease, floods, bad luck, or other local disadvantages made it seem 
advisable to move the village to a new site, the chief directed the moving 
operations and selected the new location (see above, page 244). 

Authority over ceremonies. The most important and sacred of all 
the ceremonies was the hesi (Ju'si) dance. None but adult men (past 
the age of puberty) were allowed to see this dance, and all who took 
part therein were members of an esoteric society, also called hesi. 
Membership included every man of any social importance in the 
village and involved an initiation of which very little is known. Hesi 
officials were very influential men. This was the only dance at which 
spectators were charged an admission fee, consisting of a short string 
of clam shell beads. A further description of the hesi dance is not 
necessary in this paper. The chief was a special hesi official and as 
such exercised ceremonial authority. No hesi dance was held without 
his sanction. At the ceremony of initiating a novice into the society, 
the chief bestowed a hesi name upon liim and was paid for so doing 
by the father or other family representative of the applicant. A 
lion's share of the admission fees went to the chief. All other hesi 
officials acted under his authority. 

Before the holding of any dance, hesi or other, a sweat-eouncil (see 
above, page 244) was held in the chief's house, at his invitation. At 
this council he proclaimed the necessity for holding a dance. There 



246 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Elhn. [Vol. 13 

it was decided what ceremony should be held, what days shoidd open 
and close the procedure, and what guests should be invited. The chief 
personally welcomed the guests with an address and the presentation of 
gifts. It was customary for him to make speeches between sets of 
dances. His house on any ceremonial occasion was used as a place in 
which to gamble. At his death, the chief was buried in the dance 
house {hii), which was then burned. 

Social prestige. The chief enjoyed distinct social prestige. His 
house, located at the approximate center of the village, was the council 
house where all tribal activities were planned (see above, page 244). 
The chief, his wives, and his sons and daughters, were freed from the 
necessity of hunting, fishing, or gathering of other supplies. They 
were freely supplied with the necessities of life by the other village 
members. For instance, if the chief needed firewood, he would call 
some of the young men to him and order them to get it for him. Or, 
when the time for liarvesting a certain variety of grass seed was come, 
the chief's daughter, if of age, would call to her a number of the 
younger women and tell them she needed so many baskets of timothy 
grass seed, wild oats, or whatever the cereal might be. 

A daughter or sister of a chief, called ma'in, enjoyed special social 
distinction. Children did not laugh in her presence and adults treated 
her with respect. This was not true, to any marked degree, of a chief's 
wife. 

The cliief wore holiday attire every day, his only badge of office. 

Summary. The chief, unlike the chiefs in many neighboring 
linguistic stocks, or even in neighboring sections of the Wintun stock, 
owed his chieftainship, regularly, to paternal descent and enjoyed an 
inordinate eminence in regard to ])olitical, economic, ceremonial, and 
social prestige and authority. 



FUNCTIONAL FAMILIES 

The important place that paternal descent holds in the social struc- 
ture of the Patwin being clear, the remainder of this paper will take 
up the consideration of functional families among this group. The 
data at hand, while far from complete, definitely disclose certain social 
and economic institutions not prevalent among other native California 
stocks. Associated with a patrilineal mode of reckoning kinship, there 
existed a variety of institutions concerned respectively with some 



19-2J McEeni: Funclionai Fumilicx <if tlw Patirin 247 

social or economic function. Not every family was functional in this 
manner, but those that were not had a lower social prestige. 

Each functional family was the possessor of an esoteric ritual or 
medicine. This medicine was family property and was the inlieritance 
of each new generation. Individual members had no exclusive claim 
thereto. Besides this medicine, each individual member of such a 
famil.y, if an active member (see below, page 253), owned a charm. 
Such cliarms descended, like other jiersonal effects, in tlie male line. 
Charm and medicine were valuable to tlie possessor as the means toward 
inducing supernormal aid in performing the family function. 

CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONAL FAMILIES 
For purposes of ease in presentation and comparison, functional 
families may be divided into four classes: (1) ceremonial families, 
(2) trade families, (3) shamanistic families, (4) official families. This 
division is based upon the different types of functions involved. 

Ceremonial families. A ceremonial family possessed certain secret 
medicines and individual charms that specially qualitied its members 
to take part in a specific ceremony. The ceremony and the family were 
known by the same name. For example, one of these families was 
called si'ka. Each of its members, through a proper use of his charm 
and the family medicine, was supernormally qualified to dance in a 
great public ceremony called si'ka. This dance was held once each 
j'^ear in the regular ceremonial house and was witnessed by every one, 
but no one not belonging to the si'ha family could pai-ticipate therein. 
No admission charge was made nor did the family materially benefit 
from the ceremony in any other way. The family was actively 
represented in the performing of its function by men only. 

Of like order wei'e the k'a'ima, kv'cit, lo'h' and to'to, each monop- 
olizing a particular ceremony. An active member of any ceremonial 
family was ealed ta'oUc. 

In every case it was not the teehnie of the ceremonial activity that 
constituted the family secret, but rather the medicine. Any one might 
be able to imitate the dance steps after careful observation, but no 
one would dare to do so without making the required medicine 
preparations. 

Trade families. Members of a trade family were specially fitted, 
through the possession and \ise of inherited charms and medicines, to 
engage successfully in some particular economic enterprise. For 



248 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and FJhn. [Vol. 13 

example, a man belonging to a lapt'ia family was rendered adept at 
fishing for all kinds of small or medium sized fish by the nse of his 
charm and family medicine. Individuals did not use this occupational 
advantage in independent endeavor. Tlie family acted as a unit, fish- 
ing witli a large "slough net," made of native hemp {Apocynum) 
string and called la'pi. The net was squarely oblong, resembling the 
ordinary European seine. It was suspended across a slough by means 
of a twisted rope of the same fibre as the net called t'd. This rope, 
tied to trees on opposite banks of the slough, hung very low over the 
water, allowing most of the net to be submerged. The bottom of the 
net was weighted down with mud pellets, wrapped in tule. These 
sinkers, called pu'h, were about the size of a baseball. The fish were 
driven down stream into the net. One end was then detached and 
pulled by ropes up stream and across to tlie opposite shore, thus 
trapping the fish and bringing them to land. 

The fish were not sold or exchanged but distributed among the 
families in the usual way by the chief. Only men represented the 
family in this enterprise. 

All trade families and even the trades participated in by them liave 
long since disappeared. Many of them, according to my informants, 
have been entirely forgotten. Others are remembered as having 
existed but names and words associated with them are forgotten. The 
following incomplete list is therefore all that can be offered by way 
of specific examples. 

The lapi'ta family, just mentioned. 

The capt'ntu family engaged jointly in salmon {liur) fishing. The 
method employed in fishing by such a family was in no way different 
from that of any outsider who might fish for salmon. The only advan- 
tage lield by the family consisted in its medicine practice. Salmon 
were fished with the aid of a dam or weir built across the river at some 
shallow part. This dam, called b.insh'p, was jointly constructed by 
all the men of the village. It had for its foundation a line of piles 
driven into the river bottom from shore to shore. Willow brush was 
woven in and out between these piles, in a wicker-work technic, iintil 
the structure constituted an insurmountable barrier to the salmon. 
It was perforated every few yards by a "break" or narrow gateway. 
When completed, the top of the dam was of sufficient width to allow 
one, if careful, to walk across. Salmon were caught by means of large 
basket traps, conical in shape, and made of twined willow rods. These 
were placed at the gateways and the fisher watched from his position 



1922] McEern: Functional Families of the Patu-iit 249 

on tlie dam. When a salmon swam into the trap, ti-ap and fish were 
removed. The warm sliiggisli waters of the Sacramento river in this 
locality prevent the salmon from leaping over the dam. The number 
of traps that could be \ised at any one time was regulated by the chief. 
There were always some gateways left open. 

The kapi"tu family, working individually, was engaged in the 
making of arrow points. These arrow points were manufactured from 
imported obsidian (do'ko), the river valley producing no suitable 
material for these objects. Larger stone implements, such as knives, 
were not made by the valley Pat win. Such as they had were obtained 
through exchange from neighboring hill groups. 

There was a goose-hunting family, the name of which has been 
foi'gotten. This family jiad the function of trapping geese, using a 
trap called bi'ttho. This trap consisted of large rectangular pole 
frames upon which was stretched netting, similar to the fish netting 
described above. The frames were connected at the corners with ropes 
of native "hemp." These ropes extended on into an ambuscade where 
several trappers lay concealed. The netted frames were placed side by 
side flat upon the ground and baited with shelled acorns, bi'oken into 
small pieces. When the geese came to feed upon the acorns the nets 
were turned over upon them by means of the attached ropes. 

The cako'tu family engaged in duck trapping. The trap used 
consisted of a great net, similar in shape and size to the slough net 
described above, stretched low across a slough so that the bottom edge 
barely cleared the water. Into this the frightened ducks were induced 
to fly. They were then secured by releasing the upper fastenings of 
the net and allowing it to fall over them. 

There was a family who.se function consisted in making ceremonial 
drums. These drums, called vobo'k, were hoUowed-out .sycamore logs 
from six to eight feet in length. They were placed upside down in the 
dance house and beaten by the dnnumer with his feet. 

Another family had the function of making salt {coki'). The 
salt was obtained from a salt grass (wd) found growing in dry alka- 
line regions. A pit was dug and the dried plant, mixed with salmon 
vertebrae, was piled above it. Fire was applied, and as the mixture 
burned, the natural tar from the plant and the salt with which it was 
crusted accumulated in the pit. The result was a hard gray-black 
material, soluble in hot water and very salty to the taste. It was used 
sparingly for seasoning food. 



250 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Elhn. [Vol. 13 

The tara't making family individually engaged in making cere- 
monial headdresses called tara't, and feather belts called diya'k. The 
tara't was a diamond-shaped texture worn high on the forehead by 
certain distinguished men in the hesi dance. It was fashioned of 
fine native hemp cord and small red feathers from the scalp of the red- 
headed woodpecker. The feathers were treated individually and 
tied into the basic structure of cord so as to present a smooth superior 
surface of fine red featliers. The whole was fringed with the black tips 
of the woodpecker 's tail feathers. The diija'k was a belt about a yard 
long and from four to eight inches wide. It was never worn by any 
but a hesi dancer and by only the most distinguished of them. It was 
made in the same technical manner as the tara't but included the 
weaving of fine feathers of various colors into a color design. The 
fine feathers used for tliis purpose, called pd, were obtained from the 
red scalp of the woodpecker, the green neck of the mallard duck, 
the yellow breast of the robin, the blackbird 's breast, and the orange- 
spotted back of the oriole. 

There was a family that was individually engaged in making a 
variety of large coiled baskets, externally decorated with a super- 
imposed design done in small colored feathers, the pd described above. 
This basket, called tara'tok, was exclusively used as a ceremonial 
object to be buried with tlie illustrious dead. 

There was also a "canoe-basket" making famil.y, individually the 
manufacturers of large coiled baskets oval in shape used for the same 
purpose as the tara't o'k. 

All of the above trade families were functionally represented by 
men only with the exception of the tara'tok and the "canoe basket" 
families, which were functionally represented by women only although 
the men shared the family names (which have not been determined) 
and traditional standing. Here as elsewhere the family functional 
traditions and secret medicines descended in the male line. In other 
words, a woman did not impart her technical methods and medicine 
secrets to her daughter but to her brother 's daughter. 

Shamanistic families. Shamans, excluding ceremonial shamans 
(ya.'i'tn) who did not exercise shamanistic powers except on ceremonial 
occasions, were called malid'mta. Shamanism was always the func- 
tion of a shamanistic family. A man, through paternal descent, in- 
herited certain charms and family secrets connected with the practice 
of shamanism. This alone however did not make of him a shaman. 
He nuLst first serve a long apprenticeship under a paternal instructor. 



1922] McKern: Functional Familiex of the Potn-in 251 

himself a shaman, who used liis supernatural powers to influence the 
spirits to commune with the novice and become subject to the hitter's 
incantations. 

There might be several shamanistic families in a given village, each 
absolutely independent of the others and possessing its own peculiar 
ritualistic secrets and medicines. All shamans treated all diseases 
and practiced "poisoning," but each shamanistic family had its own 
methods and secret medicines for the treatment of any given disease. 
All .shamans were men. 

Each shamanistic family held secret meetings. On these occasions 
its members participated in competitive exhibitions of shamanLstic 
control of the supernatural. Two shamanistic families, however, never 
met together for any purpose. 

Official families. Official families were peculiar in that only one 
representative of a family might at any time exercise the family 
function. Other non-active members, however, shared the family 
name and .social prestige. For instance, a man might say he belonged 
to a ceremonial song leader (gj'/tif) family when as a matter of fact 
his father's brother was the only ceremonial song leader in the family. 
The official families are included in this classification because associated 
with them are found the two fundamental elements that characterize 
the functional families, namely, paternal descent and inheritance of 
functional aids in the form of charms and secret medicines. The 
official by use of these coerced a supernatural power into lending him 
aid and protection in the exercise of his official duties. The actual 
functional representatives of all official families were men. 

For example, the hesi dance fire tender, called ('apa''tu, acquired 
his office through paternal descent. Through inheritance he was the 
possessor of a charm and a secret medicine formula, proper use of 
which insured him success in the performing of his fire-tending duties. 
Other members of his family, though having no part in the family 
function, were often called capa"\u, and enjo.yed therefrom a certain 
social distinction. 

Of like order were the sl'ka- dance drummer called ho'lwa'tu; the 
ceremonial sliaman called ya'i'Xu, whose duty it was to supernaturally 
protect the life and health of ceremonial dancers ; the ceremonial song 
leader, qo'liu, whose duty it was to lead the singing at a dance. 

In any given village there might be several qo'ltu, but each of 
them represented a different family. In that ea.se each singer family 
had its own medicines unknown to other singer families as they were 



r 



252 University of Ciilifoniid rnl/lii'iitioiin in Am. Arch, and Elhn. [Vol. 13 

imkuown to the public at large. A qo'lUi might sing the sougs for 
any dance or ceremony including those belonging to ceremonial 
families. As he grew older his stock of sougs became more fully 
representative of all the ceremonies. 

Official families had no names aside from the functional name of 
the individual representative. 

The tribal chief was not the representative of a functional official 
family as defined in this discussion. Though owing his position to 
paternal descent, he inherited no family charm or medicines, at least 
not as chief. 



DISCUSSION 

Types of names. Each functional family had a name, though often 
the family and its individual members were designated by the same 
name. The names fall into at least two categories, descriptive and 
non-translatable. The following is a table of functional family names 
according to type. 

1. Descriptive names. 

caiJe'ntu, salmon fishing family ("who drive fish into a trap"). 
iape'ta, common fishing family ("fishing with a slough-net"). 
A'apt''t?/., arrow point making family ("one who makes sharp points"). 
ta'ota, an active member of a ceremonial family ("one who dances"). 
capa"tu, hesi dance fire tender ("one who sweats"). 
ya'i'tu, ceremonial shaman ("one who starts it"). 

2. Non-translatable names. 

The following are ceremonial families and their respective ceremonies: 
lo'U, k'aima, si'la, i-u'cu, to'to. 
o. Names of undetermined type. 
Iio'lica'tu, si'la dance drummer. 
qo'ltu, ceremonial song leader. (The agentive suffix -tu suggests that 

both the above names belong to the descriptive type.) 
maliB'mta, shaman. ( The participal suffix -ta makes it probable that 
the above name is translatable.) 

Family adoption. The claim to blood relationship between mem- 
bers of a functional family was often tlieoretical. Where the family 
was connected with no functional tradition it included those of actual 
blood descent only. The functional family, however, often included 
additional "kinsmen" whose relationship was assumed, not actual. 
This assumption resulted from the practice of family adoption. 



19^2] iIi-K<rii: Functional Families of the Paitrin 253 

If a shaman, for instance, liad no near paternal relative upon whom 
to bequeath the charms and secrets of his practice, or if the proper 
paternal descendant lacked ability or interest, a youth with no con- 
sanguinary claim to the privilege but credited with mental capabilities 
and a receptive attitude might be selected by tlie sluuuan to be his 
successor. For this jirivilege the youth would pay the adopting shaman 
a standardized sum. He would be given a name from the .supply per- 
taining to the shaman's family, and would then serve an apprentice- 
ship under his benefactor's instruction. Thenceforth he would be 
considered a regular member of that particular shamanistic family, not 
only as the possessor of the family charms and medicines, but as the 
undisputed blood descendant of his predecessor and instructor. 

A ceremonial family invariably adopted the ceremonial .shaman, 
ya'i'Xu, who instructed the dancers and exerted his shamanistic powers 
to insure their health and supernatural protection from evil forces 
during a ceremony. The young shaman, serving his apprenticeship, 
learned tlie secrets of his liereditary family and how to control his 
familiar spirit. No opportunity to practice this special power atforded 
itself, however, until he was adopted into some ceremonial family. 
Then he became familiar with new family secrets and medicines. With 
the combined aid of his shamanistic charms and medicines and his 
ceremonial medicines, he coerced his familiar spirit to lend the dancers 
under his charge skill and protection, or, if they became sick during 
a ceremony, to bring about their recovery. Thus he became popularly 
recognized as atSliated through blood descent not only with his own 
family but also with the family of his adoption. 

Sometimes a ceremonial shaman of high repute was adopted by 
several ceremonial families. He was considered as one affiliated by 
ties of consanguinity to all the families concerned. 

Wherever this fiction of common descent existed it was universally 
accepted by the public. No distinction was recognized between heredi- 
tary members and adopted members of a functional family. The 
preposterousness of such an assumption was overruled in the popular 
conception by weight of tradition. Tims tlie element of adoption in 
no way weakened the importance of paternal descent as a basic element 
in .such institutions. Descent might be true or might be fictitious 
but it was always essential. 

Non-active members of the functional famihi. A member of a 
functional family did not always observe its functional tradition. 
This of course was always true of the ojiposite sex where one sex 



254 Vniversity of Calif ornin PubHcfitions in Am. Arch, and Etiui. |Vi)l. 13 

dominated the function. It was also true in some eases within the 
active sex, particularly among the official and shamanistic families. 
It was true to a less degree of members of ceremonial and trade 
families. The son of a ceremonial song leader, for example, might 
refuse to practice the traditional function of his family. This was 
oftezi due to such factors as lack of talent, lack of interest, family dis- 
putes, and even bashfulness. Such an individual would continue to 
hold his family name and to share the family prestige. He would 
know the family's functional secrets but he would waive the right to 
possess through inheritance a functional charm. He remained a family 
member in every sense except that which involved tlie traditional 
occupation. 

Charms and medicines. In every functional family the active 
member personally possessed a material charm. Sometimes this charm 
took the form of a peculiarly shajied ob,jeet of stone or wood. Some- 
times, as in the case of a shaman's charm, it was actually though not 
admittedly shaped by human hands. A member of a salmon fishing 
family (capc'ntu) usually possessed as a charm a stone mortar (the 
product of a culture preceding or ancestral to that of the historic 
valley Patwin who used wooden mortars exclusively). This mortar 
was believed to be the drum of a river spirit called k'JtJ'. The mortar 
itself was called k'oto'noeobok (<fc'Jp'«o=possessive form of k'^Vo'; 
coba'k=druni). Before starting out to fish for salmon the owner of 
this charm rubbed his hands over the stone while repeatedly asking 
the k'JtJ' to give him good fishing luck. When not so used tiiis charm 
was kept in concealment. Some charms, on the other hand, were worn 
suspended about the neck upon functional occasions. 

A shaman's charm, called kMu'r (^thunder), was a small object 
of polished stone usually roundedly oblong in shape with a small hole 
drilled through one end by means of which it was strung and worn 
suspended about the owner's neck. Such a stone was said to be a 
thunderbolt and was usually found, according to tlie owner, buried 
in the ground at the foot of a tree that had been struck by lightning. 
It was said to possess locomotive power and would always return to 
its rightful owner if stolen or lost. 

While charms appertaining to a family function were always the 
property of individual family members, family medicines were in- 
variably the common property of all active family members. A family 
member therefore personally inherited a charm but shared in a connnon 
group inheritance of family ritualistic secrets. 



192'2\ Mi-Jiiin: Funcliunal F'ainilits of the Pataiii 255 

Monopoly of family functions. The ceremonial, shamauistie, and 
official families monopolized their respective family functions in that 
they governed activities that were not participated in by outsiders. 
For example, no one acted as fire tender at a hesi dance except the 
active representative of the capa"tu family. Of the trade families, 
only those specializing in fishing and the trapping of ducks and geese 
were not monopolistic. Any one might engage in all kinds of fishing 
or go duck or goose hunting, using the same technical methods 
employed by the fishing and trapping families if he so desired, regard- 
less of lineage. But an active member of a functional familj' was 
specially qualified to succeed in such pursuits because of his ability 
to summon supernormal aid. No one, however, could make a burial 
basket or any other manufactured product of a trade family unless 
a member of the required functional family. 

Family functions and professionalism. The functional family can 
not be regarded as a professional group since the activity in which 
it specialized did not assume the place of a sole or even chief occupa- 
tion. Only at times was the individual member engaged in the tradi- 
tional family activity. Commonly he was engaged in all the general 
pursuits of life customarily followed by the other village inhabitants. 
Even the shamans spent but a relatively small part of their time in 
shamanistic practice in comparison with the day-to-day routine of 
general work directed toward supplying tlie necessities of life. 

Group consciousness. Group consciousness existed in every func- 
tional group. The official families had no elaborate methods of show- 
ing their group consciousness. There could be no clearly defined sur- 
face indications of gregariousness in this ease diie to the fact that 
official families were represented in their functions by one man only. 
Official gatherings or esoteric ceremonies were thus made impossible. 
However, the fact that one not an official might claim membership in 
a certain official family and share that family's social prestige, clearly 
shows the official families to have been self-conscious. 

Ceremonial, trade, and shamanistic families were clearly group 
conscious. All ceremonial and shamanistic families held esoteric cere- 
monies, although the information obtained regarding these ceremonies 
as yet consists chiefly of a mere affirmative statement. 

That trade families were group conscious is evidenced by group 
action in some instances, as exemplified by a salmon fishing family 
exercising its family occupation as a unit, and in all cases by a tradi- 



256 i'niversity of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Ktlin. |Vol. 13 

tional social status adlieriug to all members of a given trade family 
whether or not such members were actively controlled by the family 
tradition. This social status of functional families seems not to have 
resulted in a pronounced comparative valuation between such families 
but rather distinguished a member of any functional grouj) from an 
individual not so affiliated. 

Exogamy. Functional families were exogamous only in the sense 
that any kinship group was exogamous. Blood relatives, recognized 
as such, were forbidden by custom to intermarry. There were how- 
ever no specific rules of exogamy differentiating the functional family 
from a family with no occupational traditions. 

Independent officials. As has been noted in the case of the chief, 
not all official characters were affiliated with official fanailies. Other 
officials not so affiliated were the war leader {hi'iwma'tu), acquiring 
his office through heroic conduct in battle ; the hesi dance general 
manager (ci'ma'tu), who obtained his position through a merit system 
of selection; the head man and chief ceremonial figure (mo'ki) of the 
hesi society and ceremony, also chosen because of personal merit. 

Tlir numerical problem. The large number of families listed above 
and the high probability that there were others not recorded here, 
seems to imply tlie former existence of large village populations. 
General John Bidwell, one of the first white men to pass through the 
area described in this paper, is credited with the statement that in 
1844 there were ten thousand Indians in the near vicinity of the 
present site of Colusa city. This figure sounds impossibly large in 
the light of other information at hand. William B. Hyde, one of the 
fir.st white settlers in Colusa county, says that the average Indian 
village consisted of from one hundred to four hundred men in addi- 
tion to their women and children. Will S. Green, another pioneer of 
Colusa county, places the combined populations of seven "Colusa 
Indian" villages in 1850 at one thousand individuals. He adds, how- 
ever, that previous to 1850 diseases introduced by the whites greatly 
reduced the native population. A careful consideration of all the 
available information seems to foster the conclusion that a village of 
one thousand inhabitants was an abnormally large one. A conservative 
estimate would probably cut this figure in half and fix the average 
village population at a still lower figure. 

The question then arises: How can so many families be adeiiuately 
represented in the average sized village? The problem can not be 



BD 14.8^ 



1<)22] McEeni: Functional Familiis of the Piitirin 257 

fairly eonsitlcrcd without more complete information. It is desirable 
to know whetliei' the above list of functional families comprises a 
nearly complete or a highly imperfect percentage of the number orig- 
inally existent. If the list as it stands includes a majority of the 
original functional families, the ])rol)lem is not so difficult as it might 
at first seem. 

A family might consist of a large number of individuals. Again 
it might consist of only one individual, the last of the family line of 
descent, A happy medium between these two extremes probabl.v 
comes closer to the family as it existed. Very few functional families 
recjuired a large membership. Official families required only one 
member. The niunber of individuals in a ceremonial famil.v might be 
very limited. For instance, but two members of a to'to family par- 
ticipated in the to'to ceremony. In many cases one member of a trade 
fanaily could perform the family function. 

^Moreover most functional families existed singly in any given 
village. That is, a specific function, such as a family ceremon.v, was 
represented in a village by only one famil.v. The only two known 
exceptions to this rule were the cei-emonial song leader (qJ'ltu) fami- 
lies and the shamanistic {iiialia'mia) families. The number of each of 
tliese families in a village would logically depend upon the size of the 
village. 

The practice of family adoption is important in this connection. 
If this practice was as common as the material at hand seems to indi- 
cate one man would often represent two or more functional families. 
This would naturally tend to reduce the number of individuals required 
to fairly represent, within a village, a full list of these families. 

It should also be noted that the information upon which this paper 
is based does not apply to one particular village but to a cultural area 
represented by many villages. It is therefore not necessary to assume 
that every functional family was I'epresented in every village group. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Shamaiiisiii. The unanimous use of charms and medicines by mem- 
bers of functional families, involving what might be interpreted as a 
control and use of sujiernatural agencies, might suggest shamanism. 
An essential factor in true shamanism, however, is a personally 
acquired power of s])irit control by the individual. This personal 
element was not an essential factor undcrlving the functional family. 



258 University of California Publications in Am. Arch, and Etlin. [Vol. 13 

The ceremonial shamans and tlie regular shamans represented the only 
families whose membci-s had direct communication of any kind with 
the spirit world. Such power as members of other families possessed 
was never personally acquired but obtained by means of inherited 
charms and medicines. Therefore the esseiatial traits of the family 
are not symptomatic of shamanism. 

Clans. Any grouping of individuals claiming common blood 
descent is ajDt to suggest a totemic or clan system of social organization. 
There is, however, no trace among these people of totemism. Names, 
mythology, and cultui'al detail point in quite another direction. As 
regards non-totemic clans, the absence of patrilocal residence of the 
group and of any specific rule of exogamy contributes to the negative 
of the question. The evidence will not support an assumption of clan 
organization. 

Types of functions. There is no coherence in the tyjie of activity 
concerned. Official, ceremonial, shamanistic, economic, and artistic 
pursuits were all repi'esented. 

tSummanj. Tlu're are two elements that stand out predominantly 
in the functional families. One element is the high importance 
ascribed to paternal descent, whether real or fictitious. Adoption 
resulted in actual kinship from the native standpoint. The other 
element is the general recognition of the superimportance of super- 
nornml assistance over technical training in all manner of social and 
economic pursuits. 

The combination of these two elements results in the functional 
family. The cause for sucli a combination might very logically be due 
to the recognition of individual charms and ritualistic secrets, possess- 
ing a potency of value in some desirable activity, as personal property 
inheritable in the paternal line of descent. Such a property recogni- 
tion would of necessity create a functional family if none had 
previously existed. 



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